Two men and a teenager have been jailed for a total of eleven years for conning thousands of pounds out of elderly men in Birmingham.

Errol and Timothy Flynn, and a 16-year-old who is too young to be named, used dead rats to convince a pensioner his house was infested. They also charged a retired police officer thousands after conning him into believing his roof was infested with woodworm.

Detective Constable Deborah Simmonds spoke of her anger at what had happened.

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Three men who conned pensioners out of thousands of pounds by claiming their homes were infested with vermin have been jailed.

Errol and Timothy Flynn and a 16-year-old who cannot be named because of his age, were jailed at Birmingham Crown Court following an undercover police operation.

Timothy Flynn and his brother, Errol, were both jailed Credit: West Midlands Police

The trio were jailed for a total of almost 11 years having been found guilty of fraud dating back to March, when police received information a 76-year-old man had fallen victim to conmen.

The pensioner told police someone had attended his Quinton home claiming to be from the Environment Agency. He alleged he was investigating local reports of a large-scale rat infestation and needed to examine his attic.

The homeowner was told it would cost £25,000 to cure the problem or else his home would be condemned.

The conman put the pensioner on the phone to his ‘boss’ who confirmed the problem and suggested if he couldn’t pay in one lump sum, they would agree to take regular cash payments of £2,500.